Drive-thru services represent a large portion of convenience shopping. The multi-billion fast food industry sells as much as 50 percent of its meals through drive-up or drive-thru services. Various industries including food service, banking, pharmacy service, and laundry services enhance customer service through drive-thru options.
However, drive-up and drive-thru services can be inefficient and employee intensive. Some fast food chains use as many as four people to provide drive-thru service during peak hours. One person takes the orders, another person exchanges money, a third person prepares drink orders and hands completed orders to the customer, and a fourth person prepares the food portion of the order. The employee intensive nature of the drive-thru service represents a significant cost to convenience service industries. On the other hand, longer average service times reduces the number of customers served in any given time period and result in lost revenue.
In addition to the employee intensive nature of fast drive-thru service, typical systems suffer from miscommunication and order confusion caused by poor speakers and microphones. Voice communication over poor quality speakers and microphones compete with noise from idling engines, car audio systems, and other ambient noise. On many occasions, customers lean out of their vehicle despite many occasions, customers lean out of their vehicle despite inclement weather conditions to shout orders. The subsequent response through the poor quality speakers often leaves the customer uncertain as to whether the order is correct or how much is owed.
As such many typical drive-thru systems suffer from employee-intensive service and poor communication with customers. Accordingly, an improved drive-thru service system is needed.